A poem from Wintering out (1972) still early days in the “troubles” Narcosis Is a place in south Deere, Just a few kilometers south of Haynes family farm. In Gaelic it translates roughly to “hill of spring water” My “place of clear water,” The first hill In the world. This suggests that, literally Narwhals was the first pace seams grew up In, but also water symbolizes inspiration In Haynes poems, so this also suggests It was his first place of Inspiration.
Narwhals primary, was Hennas primary school, and so first place f learning, and literature so this enforces the Idea that Narwhals was his first place where he grew Inspiration. The second verse begins with a darker approach, “and darkened cobbles In the bed of the lane. ” this suggests that Narcosis also had some of Hennas first “bad” memory’s. Possibly a young Haynes first glance at the troubles? Narcosis, soft gradient Of consonant, vowel-meadow This is simply describing the actual word, “Narcosis” soft gradient a reference to hills, and vowel-meadow, a description of the high amount of vowels in the word, and another nature reference.
Those mound dwellers Go waist-deep in mist To break the light ice at wells and dunghills. Mist and ice are both forms of water, and so in hennas world, inspiration, however as the liquid and gas form, this represents inspiration which cannot be found, even though it is there. “to break the ice at wells and dunghills” means that you have to put effort in breaking the ice to reach the water underneath it, and so suggesting that you have to work, or search for inspiration.